Saturday, 29 June 2013

One of the self-styled "princes" with his "princess" wifeand a foreign lady who, understandably, had no reason to doubthis claims.

[YouTube video clip of the TV programme may be viewed below]

I was recently approached by "Today Tonight", a leading investigative journalism TV programme in Australia. The producers were keen to expose two brothers living in Adelaide who were posing as Polish "royal" "princes", styled "Serene Highness". Needless to say, neither individual appears in any of the historical sources or reference works for the titled Polish nobility. The evidence is clear: the brothers are nothing more than self-styled "wannabe princes" and rather sad and wilfully deluded "Walter Mitty" characters living in a fantasy land. Normally, this would not be an issue of great concern, (in my field of work I encounter many self-styled characters) but they have managed to convince a number of well-meaning individuals that they are the real McCoy (and this includes distinguished people in other countries as well as some members of notable families inviduals in Asia and elsewhere). Of course this should not be surprising. People are generally trusting and would have no reason for suspicion or to question someone's use of a title (why would they?) -- furthermore, Polish titles are so obscure that most people would not know how to check the authenticity of any claim. Alas, the realisation that these two brothers are not who they claim to be is bound to be extremely embarrassing to their supporters and those who have become their social acquaintances.

The documentary "Phoney Royals", Exposing Two Self-Styled Polish Princes Living in Adelaide may be viewed via YouTube in this video:

Not only do these two brothers pose as "Polish princes", one of them has also worn Australian medals and decorations which were never awarded to him (including bravery medals and the Order of Australia). A photograph of him wearing these medals may be seen in the video clip above. To wear orders and medals to which one is not entitled is a criminal offence in Australian law carrying the possible penalty of imprisonment. Bearing all of this in mind, I therefore had no hesitation in agreeing to participate in this TV programme.

It is interesting to note that after the TV programme was aired, the two brothers protected access to their website by making it available only to those who have login usernames and passwords.